The Gibraltar Government has launched the first phase of its residential parking scheme, which comes into effect on July 1.
The cost of the first permit for each household is £60 a year, doubling to £120 for the second permit and £240 for the third permit. Disabled persons get the first permit free and car owners over the age of 60 get a 50% discount. These fees are paid annually.
The scheme forms part of the Government’s Sustainable Traffic, Transport and Parking Plan and was launched by the Minister for Traffic, Paul Balban, at a press conference at No.6 Convent Place yesterday.
Zone one, which encompasses the area around Rosia Road and Red Sands Road, starts at the Trafalgar Road and continues until up and around Upper Witham’s Road. Other zones are due in to launch in the upcoming months.
“More and more of Gibraltar will follow suit and become more residential,” said Mr Balban.
The scheme does not guarantee a parking space for anyone, but instead aims to manage the parking situation for people living in the various zones.
“The aim of a residential parking scheme is to provide residents with an improved chance of parking whilst still supporting the needs of visitors and commercial activities in those areas,” said the Government.
Each zone will have different allocated parking and the numbers of spaces in each allocation will differ. Zone one has 239 spaces for free parking which can be utilised by residents, visitors and tourists alike. It has 297 residential spaces which require a permit, 43 spaces that are pay and display, 13 spaces have been allocated to blue badge holders, as well as three loading bays for commercial use only and six spaces for taxis. There are also spaces for motorbikes, though these are not delineated.
The pay and display parking bays are the “only way we can well and truly avoid abuse of a residential scheme,” said Mr Balban, referring to people who wish to park somewhere permanently and therefore not free up a space for other users.
The street cleaning scheme is expected to mitigate car owners parking their car in the same bay for extended periods of time.
Applicants who are in arrears or in debt with any Government agency or department will be refused a permit.
Persons wanting to apply for a permit need their identity or civilian registration card, proof of residence, a valid MOT – cars under four year old are exempt from this- and a certificate of registration (Log Book) which is registered at the address the applicant is using for the permit.
Mr Balban hopes the incremental cost of each permit on a household will deter people from owning more cars, at the press conference he said that the Government are aware of some residents that have ten cars.
He also admitted that the scheme “made need tweaking” in the future but for now it is perfect or “as close as it can be on paper”.